Today was a much more laid back day at HIMSS. I still had pretty much back to back meetings, but I’m learning little by little to manage the day at HIMSS. It’s still a work in progress, but I’m getting closer to managing this HUGE event.

In kind of a surprise meeting, I had a chance to sit down and talk with Shahid from The Healthcare IT Guy. We had a really good chat and I can see us working on a number of projects together. It’s been really interesting to meet people in person that you’ve only ever known online. A few times I’ve come away disappointed, but the opposite was true with Shahid. I couldn’t be more impressed with Shahid.

I had a number of really interesting interviews today and a meeting with the CMO of Verizon to talk about an interesting medical data exchange that they’re working on. It was really interesting to hear the vision of what Verizon and the group behind it are doing to make healthcare data exchangeable. I’ll be posting a lot more on this in the future, but you can see my original post about this consortium for some initial information. I have a video talking about the consortium and another video talking about the really neat technology behind MModal.

I also had a nice media lunch from HP. The food was great. The content was a little weak, but their talk of the thin clients was pretty useful for me in my day job. Little by little I’ve been getting more and more convinced that thin clients will be the future of desktop management. At least in any reasonably sized implementation.

Oh yes, and I have to mention the most incredibly tacky part of the lunch. While they were speaking, one of the media people’s phone rang. Not only did they not turn off the ringer, but he then proceeded to answer the phone in the middle of the meeting and was talking on the phone while the person was presenting. Then, after the call he got up and left. I was totally shocked that he really did that. Unbelievable!!

However, the event of the day without a doubt was the ONC town hall. It started off with David Blumenthal announcing that the details of accrediting the EHR certifying bodies (officially the NPRM on certification) were just released. You can find the details posted on the HHS website. I’ll be posting a lot more about this soon. ONC did a pretty lengthy question and answer and even a powerpoint on the new accreditation for EHR certifications. I’ll cover those details very soon.

I also met one of the people behind Fierce Health IT and talked about possibly working together on something. They really went all out to kind of make a splash at HIMSS and I must admit that they’ve come along way since they first started.

Lots of other things, but I better get to bed so I can make the Blumenthal keynote tomorrow.

I’ve survived my second day of HIMSS. This is my first time to HIMSS and so I must admit that I’m a bit overwhelmed. Plus, it’s the first time I’ve been to a conference as “media.” I must admit that it’s really nice to be media at HIMSS. You get access to some things that you don’t normally get to access. Plus, the media room with food and internet has been great since I haven’t had time to breathe, let alone eat.

The problem I’ve had is that there just isn’t enough time while I’m there to write too much content. Plus, it gives me no time to really process the content. So, if you want my latest updates about HIMSS, you can find them on my EMR twitter page.

I went to town on Twitter during the CCHIT town hall. It should give you a good flavor for what the town hall was like. I’m sure I’ll take many of those tweets and make it into a post later. Tomorrow watch Twitter during the ONC town hall. That should be another good one. Also, the John Halamka session will probably be another good Twitter time for me.

Otherwise, the big events for me today was the “Meet the Bloggers” panel which was quite interesting. The coolest part was meeting the readers of this blog in person and also some of the bloggers that I’ve read as well. What’s pretty neat is when someone comes up to me and says, I read you. If you think about it, I have very little idea who actually reads what I write. So, it’s neat to see some actual people talk about your work.

I was also quite happy with how the New Media Meetup at the MEDecision party at the Aquarium went. The venue was fantastic, the food was even better and the people there were even better. My only problem was that I wish that we’d had more time. Although, Colbie Callait was on stage so I didn’t want to miss her either. It was a tough challenge to have. I do like partnering like this and it was nice to meet the people behind MEDecision as well. They are working on an industry model for HIE. I have a feeling their quietly going to be entering the HIE space in a big way.

Lots and lots more I could talk about. However, I’m going to go ahead and save those for future posts (likely next week). No need to overwhelm you with posts. We have plenty of time. I will tell you that I got 2 videos today of Evan Steele, CEO of SRSsoft and also Dr. Doug Fridsma from ONC about the NHIN and CONNECT. I wanted to post it tonight, but since the internet was down in my hotel it will have to be tomorrow or the next day. Something to look forward to.

Tomorrow there’s a lot on my agenda. The John Halamka and ONC sessions that I mentioned previously, a couple more EMR vendor interviews and of course another HIMSS New Media meetup from 4-5 at the MModal booth 1157 sponsored by MxSecure. Come win a free iPod touch at the meetup. Man, it’s going to be another full day. At least tomorrow I think I have an hour or so to check out the floor a little bit.

I’ll admit that I’m having an interesting challenge figuring out how to manage all of the various things I can do at HIMSS. I’m sure that many others have the same problem. Not to mention managing the mix of all the content that’s coming out and planning my own visit to HIMSS. A great problem to have I think.

For those who are interested in meeting me, here’s a couple places where you will be sure to find me at HIMSS 10:
HIMSS Meet the Blogger Panel – I’ll be on the panel on Monday, March 1st from 3-4:30. This is an incredible panel of people that I highly respect. This should be a really lively discussion.

New Media Meetups at HIMSS 10 – These events are shaping up to be really incredible events. Looking through the list of people who have RSVP’d for the kick off event, it’s going to be a really interesting mix of people. Not to mention Colbie Caillat singing, free food and some great free giveaways. Make sure you Register for the Kick Off Event on Monday, March 1st at the MEDecision party. Thanks to MxSecure and Pervasive for also sponsoring the other meetups.

I’d love to meetup with other people or if you’re an EMR vendor that’s doing something innovative let me know in the comments or drop me a note on my Contact Us page.

There are so many events I’m interested in attending. However, no doubt I’ll have some fun at the CCHIT Town Hall Meeting and I’ll be hoping that the David Blumenthal’s HIMSS Keynote is meaningful.

Are there any must see sessions or events? Let me know of any events you think I should attend and cover on this blog.

Also, if you’re interested in following my HIMSS 10 coverage, you can sign up for my EMR and HIPAA email list, check out my posts on EMR and EHR, and follow my tweets on my @ehrandhit and @techguy twitter accounts. It will basically be like you’re there with me.